UB Law School Graduates Establish Fund in Honor of Former Professor Louis Del Cotto

By Ilene Fleischmann

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Seven former students of Louis A. Del Cotto,
J.D. '51, a highly respected tax authority and professor emeritus
in the University at Buffalo Law School, have established an
endowment fund -- kicking it off with $75,000 in gifts and pledges
-- to honor the man they credit with providing the foundation for
their own successful careers.

An expert in the intricacies of the tax code, statutes and
regulations, Del Cotto taught at the law school for more than 40
years, redefining the curriculum in tax law. In addition to his
teaching, Del Cotto collaborated on the Bittker Federal Income
Estate and Gift Taxation treatise, was counsel to the New York
State Commission on Estates, and served on the New York State
Society for Certified Public Accountants and New York
University/Internal Revenue Service Board of Advisors, along with a
host of other tax panels and institutes.

In appreciation for his devotion to the law and his dedication
to teaching, his former students have created the Louis A. Del
Cotto Fund for Excellence in Tax and Tax-Related Studies and are
urging fellow alumni to join the effort.

"Professor Del Cotto was pivotal in my life and the lives of so
many other successful UB Law School graduates," said Dianne
Bennett, J.D. '75, chair, Hodgson Russ LLP. "He helped launched the
careers of his former students, many of whom have gained prominence
and stature in the legal profession and assumed leadership roles in
their communities."

Nils Olsen, dean of UB Law School, noted, "During my tenure of
more than 25 years at the law school, Lou Del Cotto, along with Al
Mugel, Ken Joyce and Bill Greiner, created a tax program with a
national reputation that profoundly affected the careers of many of
our graduates, many of whom now lead their firms in tax law. Lou
and his wife, Bee, are close personal friends of all of us at the
law school, so it is particularly appropriate that we honor him --
just as he brought honor to us for so many years."

The fund will supplement resources for research and instruction.
In the initial years, Olsen and Kenneth F. Joyce, SUNY
Distinguished Teaching Professor in the UB Law School, will
determine how the funds will be allocated. Preference will be given
to lectures by visiting faculty and tax practitioners, scholarships
for second- and third-year students intending to focus their
careers in the area of tax, and faculty scholarly activity in tax
and tax-related areas.